In many sports, it is desired to determine how fast a projectile is thrown or shot. For example, in baseball the speed at which a pitcher throws a baseball has conventionally been measured using a radar gun positioned behind the catcher to whom the pitcher throws the ball. In professional baseball this method is satisfactory but the costs associated with purchasing radar guns makes this method impractical for amateur sports.
A baseball having inherent speed-measuring capabilities has been considered and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,948 to Dial et al. The speed-measuring baseball includes a speed determining module accommodated in a hollowed-out portion of the baseball. The speed determining module includes a start button which is depressed by the pitcher when the pitcher is ready to throw the ball. When the ball is thrown and the start button is released, a programmable counter counts down a plurality of times for time intervals of the flight of the thrown baseball. A piezo-electric stop switch stops the counter upon impact of the baseball with the catcher's glove. The counter data is then latched and used to drive an LCD display panel to provide a visual indication of the speed at which the baseball was thrown.
Although this reference discloses a speed-measuring baseball, problems exist in that the pitcher must ensure that the start button is maintained in the depressed condition until the baseball is released. This requires the pitcher to hold the baseball in a specific manner each time the baseball is thrown. If the start button is not depressed or if the start button is released prior to the baseball being thrown, no or an inaccurate speed measurement will result. In addition, the use of a moveable start button adjacent the outer surface of the baseball is prone to mechanical failure as a result of on-going impacts during use of the speed-measuring baseball.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel speed-sensing projectile such as for example a baseball which obviates or mitigates at least one of the above-identified disadvantages.